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Monday, October 12, 2015

And now we close the books on another great New York Comic Con. Here are my final thoughts about the overall experience.

1) I loved the inclusion of the food trucks. As long as they stay stocked, it's great to have all the extra variety and not be stuck downstairs in the food court.

2) The organization for the Main Stage waiting pen was excellent. My only frustration was one day when my feet decided to rebel against me and I was in tremendous pain, I had to walk all the way down to where they were giving out the wrist bands to find out if the panel I wanted to go to still had availability. For the most part, the staff was good about keeping the white boards in the front updated, but there's still a little bit of room for improvement.

3) This is a little nit-picky, but I hope if anyone from NYCC reads this, they can pass on the message to future moderators and people who warm up the crowd. Please, please, please try to remember there are people sitting in the sides and the back of the rooms. I know time is limited and it's difficult to see through the crowds of faces, but it's frustrating for the fans who couldn't wait on line for hours or camp out in a room, who couldn't get close enough to the stage, to have a tiniest chance at winning a prize or answering/asking a question. Basically, the people who were lucky enough to get a good seat or were VIPs were the ones getting rewarded. I hate seeing how disappointed some kids were, because they would be jumping up and down, trying to get the attention of the warm up guys, and they were ignored because they were in the front, but on the side, or a little towards the back. I'm cynical and jaded, I don't expect to win anything, though it is always appreciated if and when it happens, but some of these kids looked so bummed, and all the guy needed to do, was look a little farther left or right. That's all. Give these people a fighting chance for a chance.

4) Crowd control is always desperately needed. I don't spend a lot of time on the main floor. My main focus is usually the panels. But this year, because NYCC has grown so much, it was nearly impossible to maneuver the main floor or downstairs with the panels. It was bordering on obscene how bad certain spots were. And those are the areas I think need an extra hand or two. The aisles right near any of the big booths could use additional staff (if there is any) to attempt to keep things moving. That could be something as simple as noticing someone looks lost and has stopped in the middle of the aisle, all that needs to happen is the person is either helped, sent to one of the help kiosks, or jus
t asked to step to the side, so others can walk through without bumping into them. Another example is with people taking photos of all the amazing cosplayer. I'm guilty of this too. If I see someone I want to take a photo of, I might end up blocking people for the shot. However, I strongly believe in taking the shot as quickly as I can and moving on. Some people don't do that or the cosplayers outfit is so good, they draw a crowd. That's great, but it would help is there was someone nearby to monitor the situation to see if too many people are stopping or being prevented from getting through. I've also had problems waiting on lines for some panels. If the line gets to big and goes past the designated roped off area, people get a little stupid and disorganized. There needs to be staff who understand what "walking the line" is. There are not enough people who know how to do that.

5) The addition of the Hammerstein Ballroom was interesting. There were panels I wanted to go to that were over there, but I couldn't because the distance would make it impossible to get back in time for other panels and events. i don't know anyone who went there, so if you know someone, please tell me what their experience was like. Did they have to walk over? Was there a provide shuttle? What was the environment like? Please hit me up in the comments and let me know. Thanks!

6) Do people actually use their NYCC Week card? The events are always so late. It makes it very difficult to go to them. Also, while the discounts are nice, I'm not a fan of spending a considerable amount of money on the ticket, to then have to spend more money if I want to go to one of the special events. I don't have enough money for that. I wish I did, but between the lateness of most of the events, coupled with the added expenses of the events, this is the second year, I have not been able to take advantage of my card.

7) Finally, I'd love to see Artists' Alley get a little more love. Yes, we know it's there, but it's also very easy to forget about it. Maybe an additional sign or two spread out throughout the Javits to just give it a little extra boost?

Please don't think I spent my time at NYCC miserable. I didn't. I got to see some amazing panels and meet up with friends I haven't seen for a long time. I talked to a lot of interesting people, and I had a lot of exhausting fun. I think I'm going to need a few days off my feet, but otherwise, it was mostly a good experience, and now it's time to start planning NYCC '16.

How was New York Comic Con for you? Do you have anything to add? Do you agree or disagree with me? Sound off in the comments!